This is part of an ongoing series covering various college realignment news for all three NCAA Divisions as well as the NAIA. The roundup below will cover news and reports since January 15, 2026, and provide updates on previously discussed topics. As a reminder, all official moves starting with the 2025-26 academic year can be found here and those starting in 2026-27 are here. We’ll break out the reports for each Division in the following order: Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, and NAIA. Clicking the links will bring you to the corresponding section.
| School(s)/Conference | News Item |
|---|---|
| All NCAA Divisions | Acrobatics and Tumbling Championship Approved |
| All NCAA Divisions | STUNT Championship Approved |
| All NCAA Divisions | Flag Football Becomes Emerging Sport |
| College Football Playoff | 12-Team Format Remains for 2026 |
| NAIA | Passes on 5-Year Eligibility Vote |
| NAIA | Postseason Changes |
| NCAA Division 1 | Logos Permitted on Jerseys |
| NCAA Division 2 | Women’s Bowling Championship Established |
| NCAA Division 2 | NPI Approved |
| NCAA Division 3 | Women’s Wrestling Championship Established |
| NCAA Division 3 | Multiple AQs Proposal Defeated |
| Patriot League | Extends Deal with CBS |
| PSAC | Commissioner Retiring |
NCAA Division 1 News
College Football Playoff to Remain 12 Teams for 2026
The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for the 2026 season, albeit with two changes. The champions from the Power 4 conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC) will be guaranteed to make the CFP, while Notre Dame will also be guaranteed a spot in the CFP if it finishes in the top 12. The Big Ten and SEC have offered dueling proposals for future CFP formats, with the Big Ten wanting 24 teams to the SEC’s 16-team proposal. For the Group of 6 teams, the format has been altered to take the highest-ranked team, regardless of whether they are a conference champion
Logos Permitted on Jerseys
In expected news, the NCAA Division I Cabinet will allow commercial logos on uniforms beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The logos will not be permitted in NCAA Championship events and are limited to four square inches per logo. Two additional logos on the uniforms and one additional logo on the equipment will be allowed. Conference championships will allow a third logo to be displayed on the uniform. The Cabinet also mentioned that a future policy permitting logos during NCAA Championships will be explored. The NCAA previously changed its rules to allow logos on football fields in June 2024 and the jersey logos weren’t going to be far behind.
Patriot League Extends CBS Sports Deal
The Patriot League and CBS Sports extended their media rights deal. CBS will broadcast at least 24 live events each year as part of the agreement, including the men’s and women’s basketball and lacrosse championships. CBS Sports Network will carry the semifinal and championship games for men’s basketball and lacrosse, while also broadcasting the women’s basketball and lacrosse championship games.
Two Championships Established, Flag Football Becomes Emerging Sport
There will be two new championships across the NCAA for the 2026-27 academic year: acrobatics and tumbling and STUNT. Both sports will see their members compete in a single title across all divisions for the first time in spring 2027. Women’s flag football was also added to the Emerging Sports for Women program. All three divisions approved the recommendation, putting the sport in a position to become an NCAA championship sport in the future. To do so, at least schools need to sponsor a varsity program and meet minimum contest and participation requirements.
NCAA Division 2 News
Bowling Championship Established, NPI Approved, Football Change Defeated
A women’s bowling championship has been established for NCAA Division 2. The first championship is expected to take place in the 2027-28 academic year. D2 programs opted to host their own championship instead of competing across all three divisions in a National Collegiate Championship.
NCAA Division 2 also approved the use of the NCAA Power Index to select teams for championships beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The power index includes many categories and allows for the weighting of the categories to be changed over time. In-season rankings will be eliminated as a result of the NPI’s introduction.
The proposal to align the D2 Football Championship dates with the FCS and D3 was defeated. The proposal would have included adding another week to the regular season and starting the championship on Thanksgiving weekend.
PSAC Commissioner Retiring
Pennsylvania State Athletic Commissioner (PSAC) Steve Murray officially announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year on June 30, 2026. Murray previously stated he expected 2025-26 to be his final year after nearly three decades. He was named PSAC commissioner in 1998 and has seen only a few changes. Gannon (Erie, Pennsylvania) joined in 2008, Pittsburgh-Johnstown and Seton Hill (Greensburg, Pennsylvania) joined in 2013, Shepherd University (Shepherdstown, West Virginia) joined in 2019, and Lackawanna College (Scranton, Pennsylvania) will join in 2027. Two schools departed in Muray’s time: Cheyney (Cheyney, Pennsylvania) in 2018 due to financial issues and Mercyhurst (Erie, Pennsylvania) in 2024 to join NCAA Division 1.
NCAA Division 3 News
Multiple Conference AQs Defeated
A proposal that would give conferences multiple automatic qualifying (AQ) bids was defeated. Under the proposal, conferences with 12 or more members sponsoring a sport would receive 2 AQ bids to the NCAA Championships.
Women’s Wrestling Championship Established
A women’s wrestling championship has been established for NCAA Division 3. The first championship is expected to take place in the 2027-28 academic year. Until the first D3 women’s wrestling championship in spring 2028, D3 women’s wrestling programs will compete against D1 and D2 programs.
NAIA News
NAIA Withdraws 5-Year Rule Proposal
After the NCAA D2 proposal to allow up to five seasons of eligibility was sent back to the Executive Board, the NAIA did the same for its proposal. The NAIA proposed five seasons of eligibility in lock-step with their D2 counterparts, but is opting to skip a vote on it at the upcoming 2026 convention. NCAA D2 plans to reintroduce it in 2028, while the NAIA did not commit to a timeline for a future vote.
Postseason Changes
The NAIA made a few changes to a few postseason tournaments. In baseball, the championship has been expanded to 48 teams and will include 8 opening round sites made up of a six-team double elimination bracket. There will also be an 8-team World Series. NAIA softball will have the same opening round and World Series format as baseball. Those changes will go into effect with the 2026-27 academic year. Softball will use a snake seeding format for the 2026 opening round.
In track and field, the NAIA will set national qualifying “A” and “B” standards using the three-year average of the 10th-best and 20th-best performances, respectively. This will apply to all events except vertical jumps, which will use the 20th-best performance as the “B” standard, but have the “A” standard be 3 centimeters higher for high jump and 10 centimeters higher for pole vault. The NAIA also approved a change in which the 5000-meter race will not use semifinals if there are fewer than 24 qualified athletes.
Photo Courtesy of AP / AP Photos